


A Fox in Ladybug's Clothing

by VolpinaRena



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, No lila hate or salt, Slow Burn, ladybug!Lila, lilanette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-11 13:04:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20546621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolpinaRena/pseuds/VolpinaRena
Summary: Marinette tries to help Lila realize her mistakes, and in the process saves the girl from getting akumatized at her own expense. With the Ladybug miraculous now in the hands of a girl who has proven herself a formidable foe, things could go sour very quickly





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got a request on tumblr for a lilanette fic but I couldn't get it to work out in a oneshot, so I decided it's going to be a multipart fic. The first chapter is shorter than I would like but I think this is a good place to stop for now.   
Please do not try and post Lila hate or salt on this fic, comments will be being monitored, so none of that will be allowed up, so it's not even worth trying.

Lila never expected to be in this situation, she never expected anyone to actually confront her about her lies, especially not again, not after she threatened, and successfully did turn all of Marinette's friends against her. But here she was, standing in front of the girl she had been so cruel to. 

Marinette hadn't reacted the way Lila had expected her to, she approached her politely, even a bit friendly. . . ? The brunette was confused, and a little more than angry. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! Marinette was supposed to be upset, and staying out of the spotlight, not trying to fix the situation. She gritted her teeth, balling her fists at her side. She was angry, and with anger came the chance to take revenge in the form of an Akuma. Lika was ready to accept the power once more, to try once again to take Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous. 

Marinette saw it first, and her eyes widened. "Lila, watch out!" The girl frantically moved forward and shoved Lila out of the way of the purple butterfly that was leisurely fluttering towards her, ready to feed on the anger that bubbled inside. Marinette was wide eyed, and she moved her hands towards her ears and the butterfly flew closer, it seemed to have noticed Lila's anger die into confusion, and Marinette begin to show signs of fear as it was now going for her. Lila watched the situation, and tried reaching for the Akuma, but instead a pair of earrings were shoved into her hands. "Take these, and run!" 

Lila frowned at the jewelry, looking back up at Marinette, the anger she held beginning to surface once again. The Akuma had flown into Marinette's purse, and the purple light that formed the outline of a mask appeared on Marinette's face. She was trying to fight it, but between that and her efforts to get Lila to go she was having a bit of trouble. Turning away, Lila calmly walked out, her frown turned to a grin. If Marinette was akumatized and went on a rampage that would bring even more fuel to her fire, turn her friends against her even more. She could work with this, but there was something nagging at the back of her mind, something that she didn't quite like or understand fully. 

The girl shrugged it off and began to head back towards the lunch room, opening her palm to look at the earrings she had been given. They were little black feather earrings, very cute, and just her style. Lila paused her steps, blinking at said earrings. Weren't these earrings black studs when Marinette wore them? She had been handed a pair of black studs, the pair Marinette always wore. Lila blinked, as if it was her vision playing tricks on her, but when she opened her eyes, the feathers were still in her hand. Lila bit her lip, and decided to look into this a bit more. She slipped into the bathroom, glancing around the hallway for a brief second, before standing in front of the mirror and putting the earrings in. 

It was at the moment she heard Chat Noir's voice, and one that sounded eerily like Marinette's coming from down the hallway. "I'm not Marinette anymore, I'm Lady Amity, and soon I won't be cast aside and forgotten by everyone." Lila didn't even flinch at the words. She was getting what she wanted, Marinette was going to make a full of herself today, all she had to do was wait for Ladybug to show up and save the day and then things would unfold perfectly. However, when she heard a small voice speak up from behind her, Lila suddenly realized her plan wouldn't be working the way she had wanted.

"You're not the person I expected her to give these to if she ever needed someone to replace her, but you'll have to do for now." The small voice said, a red being floating up in front of her, a disappointed frown on her face. "I'm tikki, kwami of the ladybug miraculous. Since Marinette entrusted you with this, as you were the only one around, I will allow you to transform into the ladybug hero, once and only once to save Marinette. After that you will give the earrings back without hesitation. Do you understand?" Tikki obviously wasn't happy, and despite her being so small, her demeanor struck a bit of fear into Lila.

The girl nodded, not wanting to speak incase her plans of keeping the miraculous slipped out. "Just say spots on and you'll transform." The kwami wasn't in the mood to explain anything about being the ladybug holder to this girl, Tikki was ready to get this over with and be back with Marinette. A sly grin crossed Lila's face, there was no way she was going to let this pass her by.

"Alright then, Tikki, spots on!" She called and a wave of pink light washed over her. Once the transformation was over, Lila looked at herself in the mirror. Her costume was more complicated than Marinette's, the suit itself was a deep orangey red, with a pair of knee high black boots. Her hair had been twisted into a bun, something she could get used to. Lila nodded to herself,and sped from the bathroom, ready to take on Lady Amity as Harlequin Harmony.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk how I feel about this chapter it's kinda all over the place I guess? I knew how I wanted to end it but I just couldn't seem to get there in a consistent manner. I'll probably revise it at some point but I wanted to get it out for you guys so with no further ado!

Harlequin Harmony raced down the hallway, towards the sounds of the fight. It wasn't hard to find it, especially not with Chat Noir shouting puns trying to be witty every five seconds. Harlequin rolled her eyes as she neared the battle, unlatching her yoyo from where it was hooked on the side of her suit. As she approached, Chat Noir gave her a questioning and defensive look. "You're not Ladybug!" He huffed out, dodging a blow from Lady Amity a second before he was hit.

Harlequin flicked the loose strands for her hair, hands on her hips. "Ladybug is tied up right now. I'm her replacement, Harlequin Harmony." The hero said, puffing out her chest as she swung her yoyo at Chat, pulling him away from another blow from the villain. "I know where her Akuma is hiding, follow my lead." The girl looked up at Lady Amity, eyes narrowed. She slowly stalked forward, yoyo swinging in front of her like a makeshift shield.

"Do not take another step forward." Lady Amity's voice boomed, and Harlequin stopped. Chat Noir was close behind, giving her a concerned look. 

"Don't you think you should use your lucky charm?" Harlequin shot him a look, she didn't intend on using the lucky charm at all during this fight. She had watched Marinette enough to know that she likely wouldn't destroy anything during her time as an Akuma, in fact Lady Amity seemed to only be out for one thing, to have her friends notice her again. This didn't faze Harlequin, in fact, it made her whole plan a whole lot easier.

She shook her head, and pointed to the bag that was tied around Lady Amity's waist, giving her dress a more regal look. "We don't need it, she isn't going to cause any damage. In fact, all I need you to do is distract her for a while. Find some of the kids from Ms.Bustier's class, they'll be good bait for her, distract her long enough so I can grab the bag."

Without another word, Harlequin swung off, using the school's rafters to propel her. Chat Noir was on edge, he didn't enjoy the way this girl was going about getting rid of this Akuma, especially not with her using civilians as bait, but. . .if it got the job done, why not give it a shot. He knew a certain reporter was probably lingering around, and she'd be more than happy to help out.

Alya was easy to spot, as she wasn't very hidden in the first place. The girl was on her knees, phone out, recording the action, or lack thereof. She glanced up when Chat Noir walked up to her. "Shouldn't you be helping the new ladybug get that Akuma?"

"Actually, that's what I'm here for. I need your help. Harlequin Harmony wants us to distract Lady Amity. So far she seems peaceful, aside from trying to find and force people to like her. Can you help me?" The hero asked, and received an enthusiastic nod from Alya. He grinned and dashed off, the girl fast on his heels. 

\---

The Akuma was taken care of swiftly and efficiently. Harlequin Harmony had cleansed and released the Akuma. She called the lucky charm, which was a pair of black studs. The hero ignored this and threw them in the air, calling out "Miraculous Harmony!" And a swarm of ladybugs fixed the little damage Lady Amity had caused. Harlequin bent down next to Marinette and helped her up, a fake smile on her face. "Are you alright, Marinette?" 

Marinette looked at the hero in confusion, and then seemed to remember the events moments prior to her akumatization. "I'm fine. . . Uh -" 

"My name is Harlequin Harmony, it's a pleasure to meet you." She glanced back as she heard the telltale chirp of her miraculous, giving Chat a look."I've got to go, will you help her home?" She once again didn't wait for an answer, rushing up the stairs and into an empty classroom. 

Lila let her transformation fall, catching Tikki in her hands. The little red kwami looked exhausted, and more than a little bit surprised. Lila had moved with such grace and efficiency when she was transformed, something Tikki was not expecting. The kwami shook her head,glaring up at Lila. "Give the earring back to Marinette, you did your job, its time." She said,crossing her arms over her chest. 

Lila let out a snicker, shaking her head. Did this little thing really think she was going to give up the miraculous so easily? Tikki was stupider than she had originally thought. "Why would I do that? I've got a miraculous now, and the whole of Paris needs to know how much better Harlequin Harmony is than Ladybug. Soon the whole city will forget her and be fans of me!" She held Tikki a bit tighter in her hands, before dropping the Kwami into her bag. "There's food in there if you get hungry, we have a long day ahead of us."

Tikki opened her mouth to say something, but the bag was zipped up too quickly. She thought about phasing out of it, but it would be no use if she couldn't get the earrings from Lila, Tikki hoped Marinette was right in thinking being a miraculous holder would change Lila for the better, because if not, Paris was in for a world of hurt.

\---

A few months had passed since the first appearance of Harlequin Harmony, which meant a few more Akumas had come and gone. Harlequin and Chat made a good team, swiftly taking down Akumas, about half the time without the help of a lucky charm. Harlequin was a good manipulator, and found it quite easy to just get an Akuma to get distracted long enough for she or Chat to break the object the Akuma was hiding in. Paris was still fretting over the disappearance of Ladybug, but they still had two saviors of Paris so it wasn't too big on their radar. 

Lila was sitting in the back of class, seething with anger. Her attempt at making Marinette out to be a selfish fool had backfired, their classmates had seemingly come to their senses for the most part after the Lady Amity event. They hadn't exactly ditched Lila, but she was upset they were speaking to Marinette again, as if nothing had changed. Things have changed, Lila knew Marinette was Ladybug, and she had refused to give the miraculous back. Lila knew Marinette was just as much a liar as she was, if only because she lied everytime she had to make an excuse to go be Ladybug. She shook her head, balling her fists on the desk. There wasn't any time for these kind of thoughts. 

Lila stood up and made her way over to Alya and Marinette, who were chatting with Adrien and Nino about hanging out together this afternoon. "Oh! You're going to the park! How nice! Do you mind if I tag along?" She asked, giving Alya a smile. She had been spending more time with the group, in hopes of distancing them from Marinette once more, but if anything she seemed to be slowly becoming a friend to them, at least, that's what Marinette hoped. 

Lila had noticed Marinette was being oddly nice to her, especially since she hadn't given the earrings back. Marinette hadn't even requested them back once, this made Lila slightly uneasy. One would have thought Marinette would have tried to get her miraculous back more than once, but she hadn't even asked about it, not once. It seemed as if Lila was craving out a place for herself, though her lies continued. "I don't mind if you come along." Alya piped up, putting her arm around Lila with a grin. 

Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by a scream coming from outside. The four teens ran to the window, spotting the citizens of Paris running into buildings, away from a giant stone monster. "Ivan. . ." Marinette said quickly, and glanced at Lila. She was the only one who knew Lila held the Ladybug miraculous now, and Marinette was the only one outside of Chat Noir who had an insight on how to beat Stoneheart. It wasn't a surprise that Hawkmoth had akumatized the boy once again, he'd already akumatized some people into a villain more than once, such as Mr.Pigeon or Stormy Weather. Harlequin Harmony and Chat Noir had taken them down easily enough, Mr.Pigeon more so than Stormy Weather but that's besides the point. 

"I better get home! My mom is going to be worried sick once she finds out there's an Akuma running around" she fished her phone out of her pocket, pretending it was vibrating. "Oh here she is now!" Lila said and scurried out of the classroom. She ducked into an empty classroom and called on her transformation. After the bright pink light died down, Harlequin Harmony raced out into the streets, spotting the Akuma she used her yoyo to get closer, eventually slamming it into the monster. To her surprise, Stoneheart grew bigger. Harlequin backed up, stumbling into Chat Noir. 

"You can't attack him head on, he'll just grow in size." The boy explained, pulling Harlequin to safety as Stoneheart began to advance. "Call your lucky charm, last time Ladybug and I-" 

Harlequin yanked her hand away from Chat, seething. "Don't bring up that wretched bug in my presence! I don't care what she did last time, I'm not her! I'm better than her in every way!" She snapped, and used her yoyo to fling across the city after the Akuma. Usually she and Chat Noir worked well together, but anytime he brought up Ladybug and how she did things, Harlequin would get on the defense side, become angry and lash out. She stopped on the roof of a building, watching as Stoneheart continued turning others to stone wherever he went. 

Harlequin was confused and wasn't quite sure what to do. She fidgeted for a minute before trying to attack the monster with her Yoyo once more. He just grew bigger. This went on for what seemed like forever, she thought she could finish him off without using the lucky charm, without Chat's help, but after a few hours of her struggling to keep out of Stoneheart's grasp and trying to figure out a plan, and also making sure chat stayed out of her way, she had no choice. Harlequin through her yoyo into the air. "Lucky charm!" She called, and a gong fell into her hands. Chat looked at her curiously. 

"Aren't you going to go to the guardian's place and get another miraculous to help? That's what that means." He asked, only to receive an irritated look from Harlequin.

"Stop pulling my leg, I don't even know what or who you're talking about!" Glancing around the area didn't help her figure out what to do with the gong. She hissed, and threw it aside, ignoring the beeping of her miraculous. Chat Noir pinned his faux ears to the side of his head and bounded off. If Harlequin didn't know of the guardian or where he was at, then he'd have to get them help. 

\--- 

Adrien entered the small massage parlor wearily, Plagg floating out of his pocket once they were safe inside. "I know Harlequin Harmony said Ladybug gave her the miraculous but if she doesn't even know who the guardian is, I'm not sure we can trust her. Now might be the time to get that miraculous back, Adrien." Plagg said, shoving a piece of cheese in his mouth. 

Adrien stopped in the doorway, shaking his head as he waited for Master Fu to come see them. "I'm sure Tikki just hasn't deemed her ready yet. Everything will be fine Plagg, I have faith in her." His eyes light up when he saw Master Fu hobble out of what seemed to be the kitchen with two cups of tea. "Master Fu! It's good to see you again."

Fu gave a small smile, and handed the tea to Adrien. "I had a feeling you'd be showing up today, Chat Noir." The man headed for the miracle box, bringing it over to Adrien, he opened it. "Adrien Agreste, pick an ally you can trust to aid you in this fight, once the job is done, you will return the miraculous back to me. Do you understand?" The man went through the procedural words, letting Adrien look over the miraculous in front of him.

"Actually master, I have someone in mind, and the perfect miraculous for her is the one on your wrist. . . May I?" Fu nodded, putting the turtle miraculous in one of the boxes. He handed it over to Adrien. The two big farewell, and once in the alley way again, Adrien transformed back into Chat Noir. 

\---

Chat Noir bounded over the roofs of Paris, headed towards the school. He slipped in through a window, and glanced around. She should be here somewhere. . . He slowly began to prowl through the seemingly empty hallways, that is until he heard someone smack into the floor. "Alya! We're trying to be quiet!" Marinette's voice echoed towards him, as she seemed to pick herself up off the ground.

"Sorry girl, I didn't mean to run into you." The other voice responded. Chat grinned, just who he was looking for. But he needed a way to separate them. 

He approached the two girls,giving them a smile. "Hey ladies, found a safe place to hide yet?" He leaned on his baton, causing Marinette to roll her eyes.

"We have one spot, but it won't fit both of us -" she was cut off as Chat Noir lifted her off the ground. Alya blinked for a moment before pulling out her phone, ready to record this. Chat held his hand up, shaking his head.

"Go hide Alya, I'll get Marinette somewhere safe." With that he gripped Marinette a bit tighter and bounded off out of the school. He skirted to a halt on a secluded roof, setting Marinette down. Grabbing the box of the turtle miraculous, Chat held it out to her. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, this is the miraculous of the turtle. It grants the power of protection. You will use it for the greater good, and return it to me once the job is over." Chat held the box a little closer to her. "Do you accept?" Marinette blinked for a moment before giving a nod. 

She opened the box,flinching a bit as Wayzz flew out in a ball of green light. The kwami played pretend well enough, acting as if he didn't know who Marinette was. "Hello, I am Wayzz, and I'll be your kwami. To transform just say 'shell on'."

With a nod, the girl slipped the bracelet on, it turned into what seemed to be a simple leather cord bracelet. "Wayzz! Shell on!" She called, and a green light washed over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit my tumblr: https://volpinarena.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'd love to hear some of your thoughts about the start of this fic, and what you think might happen next. No Lila salt or hate will be tolerated here. 
> 
> Just a small fun fact about Lila's name as the ladybug hero in A Fox in Ladybug's clothing, it's based around the scientific name for the Japanese imposter beetle, which is called Harmonia axyridis, and it's common name, Harlequin. I thought Harlequin Harmony would suit her when I read about that .o. 
> 
> Visit my tumblr:https://volpinarena.tumblr.com/


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